


Getting Together

by goldarrow



Series: Dragon!ARC [4]
Category: Primeval
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 07:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20386018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldarrow/pseuds/goldarrow
Summary: Abby and Stringer get closer.





	Getting Together

**Author's Note:**

> Stringer belongs to fredbassett.
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything recognisable as Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. I just borrow them for fun. I shall return them, slightly mussed but in superb spirits, once I’m done with them.

Getting Together

"So," Stringer said casually, leaning against the break room's door jamb. "What happened out there?"

Abby stared at him in confusion. "Um, the creature was in trouble? And I helped it?" She shook her head. After the minor confrontation between her and Captain Ryan in the Jurassic after she'd Shifted to her dragon form to save a stranded ankylosaur, she thought that the subject was closed.

"Not talking about that," Stringer drawled, his cut-glass accent becoming more obvious with every word. "I'm talking about how you reacted to Ryan's lecture."

She couldn't help it, feeling herself closing down. "Don't know what you're talking about," she replied stolidly, turning back to the counter-top to remove the teabag from her cup.

The hope that the bronze captain would just let it lie burst like an overstretched balloon. She felt the warmth of his body behind her, wanting to lean back into him for comfort but knowing that she didn't dare. If she gave in even that much, the tears that were pressing at the back of her eyelids would spill over and she would melt into a puddle of tears.

"Yes, you do," he said gently, more gently than she'd thought a military man could. "I know the look. You were half expecting to be blasted into next week, either verbally or physically."

The words hit her ears, taking her back fifteen years to the day that her father knocked her mother to the ground and started kicking her. The nine year old girl hadn't known what to do, had only been able to hide under the kitchen table with her hands over her ears, trying her best to block out her mother's cries. It was only when her father had finally grabbed the money from the kitchen savings jar and stomped out of the room that she managed to uncurl and crawl over to her mother, who was slowly straightening out, groaning at the pain of the movements. She had never understood why her mother hadn't Shifted and defended herself.

Shivering, once Abby finished fixing her cuppa she turned and braced herself against the counter. Maybe it was time for her to tell him. If he walked away, then at least she hadn’t wasted too much time on her crush. She took a sip of tea, then sighed and simply held the cup for warmth. It took her a few moments to meet the other bronze's eyes. Not sure what she would find there, she was slightly surprised to see nothing but sympathy; no scorn or condescension.

"My dad used to beat my mum," she said softly but clearly. "I grew up with a father who was out of control, a brother who could do no wrong, and a mother who simply put up with whatever they wanted to do to her." She knew her expression was growing vicious, could see the slight change in her vision that signalled that her eyes were starting to glow with a bronze light, but she didn't care. "She said she'd made her bed, and had to lie in it. I never understood that."

Stringer's eyes were whirling bronze also, something that somehow made Abby feel more in control herself. "Is he still alive?" he asked, his tone going a bit deeper.

Abby shrugged. "Haven't the foggiest. Once my mum died – it was cancer, not a beating – I walked away and never looked back."

"I could find him and get rid of him in a way that would never be discovered," Stringer offered casually. "And your brother, too, if you want."

That was a surprise. Not so much that the Special Forces captain would be capable of cold-blooded murder – he was, after all, a bronze – but that she wasn't shocked about his offer.

"Thanks, but no. I kind of like the idea that he's out there, hating his life every day he has to live it. And my brother was spoiled, but at he wasn't really evil."

She looked up into his eyes, wondering how he would take her composure about the situation. What she saw there made her fight, and fail to control, a blush. She wasn't used to seeing total admiration in a man's gaze.

As if he sensed her sudden confusion, Stringer stepped back a pace. "I know I asked you out there if you'd like to go get coffee with me, but I think I'd like to up that to dinner. Would you by any chance be interested?"

Suddenly slightly out of breath, Abby froze for a second. "Um, yes," she managed to say, before gathering her wits and adding, "I'd definitely be interested."

"Excellent," the captain replied. He glanced at the clock on the back wall. "I'm off duty at seven."

Abby followed his gaze. "I finish at five. I can go home and change, if you'd like to pick me up there at half-seven?"

"That will be perfect," Stringer replied, taking her hand gently. "I greatly admire you, Ms Maitland." With that, he kissed her fingers, released her hand, and spun on his heel to stride from the room.

Abby was left to raise her tingling fingers to her cheek. What had she got herself into? This man wasn't like the boys at school who had chased her, or Connor, who – bless him – had tried his best to impress her. This was a soldier, a Special Forces captain. The fact that he was a bronze like her simply added confusion rather than connection as far as she was concerned. Over the years, she'd found herself more attracted to coppers, their organised minds and logical outlook making her feel more balanced in herself.

Now, she had to decide whether a bronze male, like her father, would make her feel too vulnerable to connect with. Then she shook herself. Stephen was a bronze, and she'd never felt unsafe with him. She was just looking on the dark side, searching for a reason to back away.

But she wasn't going to back away this time. Joel Stringer was different from any other man she'd ever met, and she was bloody going to give him a try.

A quick glance at the clock showed her that it was time to head home to change. Hoping madly that there wasn't going to be another anomaly alert before they both got out of the ARC, she dumped the rest of her tea into the sink, rinsed the cup and headed out.

It was time to stop living in the past, and start living for the present, and perhaps even the future.


End file.
